The Ties that Bind

Yep.  That's me in the upper left corner again.  The one in the TIE.  This is the Student Council picture taken for the Yearbook.  I won't go into who all the students are here - hopefully I can do that in a post to be done later.  Just notice my attire compared to the others.

Here I am at a rehearsal for the musical It's A Bird, It'a a Plane, It's Superman.  The student actor I am pictured with is Tim Deneau, our Superman, who was truly that - all-star football player, all A student, and all around genuine nice guy.  Me?  I'm the one at an after school activity, wearing a TIE.

We had a yearly event that I helped manage called Sadie Hawkins Week, culminating in the Sadie Hawkins Dance.  I am handing a prize pig to Cheryl Holland, winning one of the contest events.  Notice her attire.  Yes, the event was inspired by the comic strip L'il Abner, and the dress was, uh, Appalachian casual.  Then notice my attire.  I am wearing a suit and TIE.

I wore a tie to school virtually every day my Junior year.  Part of it was because I was class President. Part of it was because I was rebelling against the standards of my peers and I was trying to be different, non-conformist in my own strange way,  And I'm sure part of it was to appear smarter than I was.

This was actually at a time when the dress code was being relaxed, with jeans and other casual attire being allowed.  So while my peers were dressing "down", I was dressing "up".

As I got older, I would continue to wear a tie wherever I could.  I wore them to church.  I wore them teaching, when many of the other male teachers were not.  And as I came into the accounting profession, they became fairly standard.

My work runs late, so I often have them on when I am at after work events, meetings and play practices.  I don't take the time to change, and I'm too lazy to take the tie off.  When I went to Benjamin's school for Daddy breakfasts or lunches, I was always struck by the fact that I was the only one there wearing a tie. Fewer and fewer professions, particularly around here, are requiring that you wear one.

In the last few years, my attitude towards ties have changed.  I have become weary of them, and look forward now to not wearing them.  The first thing that went is church.  I no longer wear a tie to church. Thankfully, at my church, we have all levels of dressing, from very formal to ultra-casual, and all are welcome equally.

I wear a tie to work Monday to Thursday still, but when I work other days, I do not.  I have not purchased any new ties for awhile now, in anticipation of the time I would not need them.  There is a natural attrition point of ties - some get lost, frayed or permanently stained.  But I am determined to make do with what's left.

I am going to start to take my tie off after work, even if I'm going to an after work activity.  If it makes me look like  I've dropped IQ points, so be it.

Maybe it's just aging, wanting less restrictions in my clothing.  Maybe I'm just ready to take on a new role. I'm finally ready to stop rebelling against my peers, ready to set aside my nerdy Junior Class President disguise.

No, I'm not ready for flip flops, wife-beater t-shirts, and jeans with holes in them.  I just want casual shirts without a tie, regular blue jeans and tennis shoes.  So no camo for me (unless I'm playing Dub in a play), no backwards baseball caps or sandals.

But you never know.  That day may be coming.

Yee-haw!